MSc Occupational Hygiene

Fees for entry in 2027 have not yet been set. For reference, the fees for the academic year beginning September 2026 were as follows:

• MSc (full-time distance learning)
  UK students (per annum): £15,200
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £30,500
• MSc (part-time distance learning)
  UK students (per annum): £6,080 for year 1 and 2, and £3,040 for year 3
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £12,200 for year 1 and 2, and £6,100 for year 3
• PGDip (part-time distance learning)
  UK students (per annum): £6,100
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £12,200
• PGCert (part-time distance learning)
  UK students (per annum): £3,000
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £6,100

The fees quoted above are fully inclusive of tuition, administration and computational costs.

Fees for entry are subject to yearly review. The University reserves the right to increase your tuition fee by up to 7% each year for courses lasting more than one year, including to reflect rising costs associated with delivering our educational and wider student experience. Postgraduate fees information .

Always contact the admissions team if you are unsure which fee applies to your qualification award and method of attendance.

UK students opting for MSc 1 year full-time or 2 year part-time course of study may qualify for a PGT loan from the UK government. Please see our university pages or contact admissions.

Students studying our MSc course over 3 years part-time may also be eligible for a postgraduate loan if there is no other suitable full time equivalent course available in the UK at the time of application. Please contact admissions for more information.

Please note: The fees do not cover any costs for travel, accommodation, professional exams, etc.

A number of our students are sponsored by their employers or the governments of their home countries.

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

For the latest scholarship and bursary information please visit the fees and funding page.

Equity and Merit Scholarships are for academically excellent students who have the potential to make a significant contribution to sustainable development in their home countries.

The awards are intended for those who cannot afford to study in Manchester without a scholarship. We are committed to a policy of equal opportunity and all applications are considered on their merit. We particularly encourage women to apply. To apply for a scholarship for this programme under this scheme you must be looking to study a part-time, distance learning master's (three to five years duration).

The MSc Occupational Hygiene can be studied part time with a 3 year study option. There are 30 scholarships (20 for full-time study and ten for online study) available each year for a range of courses in engineering, environment, health sciences, development, education, textiles and law.

The scheme is open to applicants from Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Business and the media are having an increasingly apparent impact on the health of populations worldwide, positively and negatively. Issues such as trade, regulation and legislation vary globally and historically, and this course unit will explore how it can affect the health of populations in an internationalised world. The course also explores the role the media can and does play in conveying health messages to the general public, and how the rise in social media use has led to new problems such as the infodemic, but also potential opportunities.

The unit aims to:

Introduce the relationship between business media and health and how their interaction impacts on the health of populations. 

Provide students with the opportunity to apply their learning to real world scenarios and contribute their findings to an assessed group project.
 

The unit will cover the following major themes, exemplified with contemporary case studies to keep the unit up to date, and with flexibility to incorporate any developing trends: 

• The relationship between business, media and health, incorporating historical trends up to the present day focussing on technology, big-business and social media 
• Legislation and Regulation – the industry influence on health policy covering issues such as taxes on unhealthy food and drink, regulation of alcohol and tobacco and the way that industry has challenged and adapted such measures 
• Health as a business – to include investment in technology for health, the role of pharmaceutical companies, the commodification of healthcare, and how businesses can promote health for their consumers and workforce
• Trade, internationalisation and health – international agreements around Intellectual Property and licencing and the impact on global public health, free and fair trade, access and competition for healthy and unhealthy goods 
• Framing of health issues – health reporting and representation of health issues in the media, production and circulation of health news, the media’s role in raising awareness of health issues and the risk of stigmatisation or discrimination 
• The media and health promotion – theory and methods of mass media campaigns (to include social media), media advocacy, health and media literacy, inclusion of diverse population groups  
• The infodemic – the spread of misinformation and the impact on public health, and the role of both business and media in facilitating and mitigating this 
• Social media and health – the role social media plays in health communication and the positive and negative (public) health impacts of the increase in social media usage 

The course includes a continuous student group project that forms the overall assessment. The project will be developed and assessed at a group level and student groups will be organised to encourage team working and peer support. The course unit leads will provide guidance to students throughout the course, including comprehensive and frequent feedback on their work. The students’ work will be peer-reviewed at key points during the course and students will have the opportunity to revisit and improve on their work before final submission and assessment. 

There will be written materials by the tutors guiding students through the course, illustrated with photographs and figures to illustrate the rich topic areas. Much of the content will be presented through reading, including peer reviewed journals (accessible through the University library), and multimedia, including videos. Students will be directed to a variety of relevant literature each week, but also encouraged to research and explore and find their own sources.  

There will be regular interaction with the tutors through scheduled seminars (which will be recorded for those on the web-based option) and online through the discussion boards. Students will be encouraged to use self-reflection to think about the ideas discussed, and take part in discussion board activities. Students should work through the unit in a logical sequence. The individual course unit timetables will guide what should be done and when. Participation in the discussion boards is greatly encouraged, and can help enhance your learning experience and prepare you for your assessment.

The majority of the course will be delivered through the virtual learning platform, which will include required and additional reading, self-tests and discussion boards.  

There will be webinars that will be recorded to allow synchronous and asynchronous learning. Students are encouraged join webinars live, but it is not mandatory. Recordings will be made available.

Students should be able to:

• Discuss the impact that both business and media can play on health, including attitudes, behaviours and practices amongst the general population
• Present an argument for the role media can play in health (mis)information in facilitation and mitigation of the infodemic 
  
   

Students should be able to:

• Critically appraise the evidence base surrounding the political and economic environment’s effect on business and its impact on health
• Compare and contrast different systems and the role business and media plays in influencing different population’s health outcomes
   

Students should be able to:

• Develop globally relevant resources for enhancing the evidence base for how business, media and health interact

Students should be able to:

• Apply the learning from the course to specific populations, problems and contexts

Students will work on the group project over the full semester supported by their peers. 

Students will be provided with personalised feedback for their final summative group project 15 working days following the submission deadline.

The work will also be reviewed at key points during the course and students will have the opportunity to revisit and improve on their work before final submission and assessment.
 

Maani N, Collin J, Friel S, Gilmore A, McCambridge J, Robertson L, Petticrew M. (2020) Bringing the commercial determinants of health out of the shadows: a review of how the commercial determinants are represented in conceptual frameworks, European Journal of Public Health, 30(4), pp. 660–664

Dahlgren G, Whitehead M. (2021) The Dahlgren-Whitehead model of health determinants: 30 years on and still chasing rainbows, Public Health, 199, pp. 20-24

Merchant RM, South EC, Lurie N. (2021). Public Health Messaging in an Era of Social Media. JAMA. 325(3) pp. 223–224

Baum, F.E., Sanders, D.M., Fisher, M. et al. (2016). Assessing the health impact of transnational corporations: its importance and a framework. Global Health 12, 27

WHO (2023). Global spending on health: Coping with the Pandemic

Van Zee A. The promotion and marketing of oxycontin: commercial triumph, public health tragedy. Am J Public Health. 2009 Feb;99(2):221-7

Gilens, M., & Page, B. (2014). Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens. Perspectives on Politics, 12(3), 564-581